5 Most Common Florida Probate Mistakes Made by Adult Children, Beneficiaries, Family & Heirs-at-Law

Are you involved in a Palm Beach probate and waiting to get your inheritance? Maybe you are wondering why it’s taking so long for you to get your Florida inheritance from the Palm Beach probate.  Don’t trust the executor of the Florida will and her Florida probate lawyer?  That’s not uncommon.  But here are 5 Common Florida Probate Mistakes which beneficiaries, heirs-at-law, and family members may make when it comes to Palm Beach probates and getting your Florida inheritance.  Or, to put it another way, here are 5 Common Themes or issues which beneficiaries of Florida trusts & estates may face. 

1. I don’t trust the Florida executor.  Many sons and daughters or beneficiaries of Florida estates don’t trust the personal representative of the probate–the person who is in charge of running the estate.  That’s not entirely far fetched.  After all, most adult children who inherit from mom’s, or dad’s, estate, or a rich Aunt who left a huge Boca Raton estate, don’t run estates or handle probates for a living.  It’s new ground, unfamiliar territory, and there can be millions of dollars in Palm Beach bank accounts, real estate and stocks and bonds on the line.  Often, an adult son or daughter may be offended or feel hurt that their father or mother did not put them in charge of their Florida estate plan by naming them executor of the estate, what in Florida is called a Personal Representative. So, what’s the best you can do? Get someone in your corner.  Hire a West Palm Beach probate litgator.  Don’t need a probate litigator Florida? OK, that’s fine.  Then considering hiring a Jupiter, Florida probate lawyer to advise you.  Don’t want to hire a Palm Beach estate lawyer? Fair enough. Consider hiring a CPA or a “numbers person” with a background in estates & trusts or Florida probates.  The point is: if you don’t have someone in your corner, you will always distrust the executor of the estate.  So, open up that wallet and spend a few bucks to get an advisor who works for you and only you.  Some advisors will agree to delay getting paid until you get your inheritance.  In the end, don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.  There’s too much money on the line.
2. Why is it taking so long to get my inheritance?  There is an order, or a system of priorities, on how people inherit money in Florida. First of all, all the expenses of administration and debts of the deceased person get paid off first.  Valid probate claimsget paid, and there’s even a priority or class of claims for those, too.  Yes, that’s right:before you.  Florida estate beneficiary or a beneficiary of mom’s Florida revocable living trust:  you don’t get a dime of  your inheritance until the debts and expenses get paid off.  If there is an IRS audit or pending litigation, or a lot of claims, don’t expect your inheritance check from the Florida executor right away.  Relax. Monitor. Keep up to date and stay involved….  With someone you trust in your corner to advise you like an experienced and knowledge CPA or estate accountant. Ask the estate for a time table or an expected date when you get receive your Florida inheritance. Inquire why that date or time frame makes sense or is appropriate. If that fails, or it is still taking too long to get  your estate distribution of money, then consider going to the probate court and file a motion for a partial distribution or a complete or full distribution of your inheritance.
3. My Dad’s 2nd Wife is Getting All this Estate Money.  (Or, my mom’s 3rd husband has some probate priority).  Yep.  That’s Florida probate law for you, and it’s all in the Florida Probate Code.  Surviving spouses, or Florida widows, unless they waived their Florida inheritance rights in a valid prenuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement, are entitled to certain priorities and entitlements and inheritances from Florida probates.  Family allowance? Car? Elective share Florida? Guaranteed 30% inheritance from the estate and the Florida revocable trust too?  Is it possible for a widow to not only be a beneficiary of the probate but also a creditor of the estate? Indeed.
4. The Palm Beach probate lawyer is charging too much money from the estate.   Yes, the estate lawyer hired by the personal representative of the Palm Beach estate doesget paid.  That estate lawyer gets paid from the estate or the probate assets and money, and if there is not enough in the estate, the executor of the will asks the trustee of the Florida revocable trust for money. But, you, like any beneficiary or interested person in the estate, under the Florida Probate Code, can review the compensationof a Florida probate lawyer, or any other person the personal representative hires to do estate work. Check out Florida Probate Code Section 733.6175 if you want to objectto the probate lawyer fees of the executor’s lawyer.  Also, check out Florida Probate Code Section 733.6171 for how much a Florida probate lawyer may be paid for service to an estate or a probate proceeding.  Finally, you may want to read about the compensation or fees for a Florida personal representative under Florida Probate Law 733.617.  You can read all these Florida probate code laws for free by doing an internet search for Florida statutes.
5. I didn’t read it.  Don’t, estate beneficiaries, or family members, forget to read what you are sent in the mail by the Florida estate lawyer. Don’t ignore what the executor of the Palm Beach probate, by or through her West Palm Beach probate lawyer, sends to you.  Read it and understand it.  If you don’t, hire a lawyer to explain it to you.  Everything you read or get from the estate lawyer will affect your rights and inheritance.  Don’t ignore what you are sent in the mail by the executor of the estate or her     probate attorney.